Laws
About Bodily Discharges

15:1 The
Lord
spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
“Speak to the people of Israel and say
to them, When any man has a discharge
from his body,[1]
his discharge is unclean. And this is
the law of his uncleanness for a
discharge: whether his body runs with
his discharge, or his body is blocked
up by his discharge, it is his
uncleanness. Every bed on which the
one with the discharge lies shall be
unclean, and everything on which he
sits shall be unclean. And anyone who
touches his bed shall wash his clothes
and bathe himself in water and be
unclean until the evening. And whoever
sits on anything on which the one with
the discharge has sat shall wash his
clothes and bathe himself in water and
be unclean until the evening. And
whoever touches the body of the one
with the discharge shall wash his
clothes and bathe himself in water and
be unclean until the evening. And if
the one with the discharge spits on
someone who is clean, then he shall
wash his clothes and bathe himself in
water and be unclean until the
evening. And any saddle on which the
one with the discharge rides shall be
unclean. And whoever touches anything
that was under him shall be unclean
until the evening. And whoever carries
such things shall wash his clothes and
bathe himself in water and be unclean
until the evening. Anyone whom the one
with the discharge touches without
having rinsed his hands in water shall
wash his clothes and bathe himself in
water and be unclean until the
evening. And an earthenware vessel
that the one with the discharge
touches shall be broken, and every
vessel of wood shall be rinsed in
water.

“And when
the one with a discharge is cleansed
of his discharge, then he shall count
for himself seven days for his
cleansing, and wash his clothes. And
he shall bathe his body in fresh water
and shall be clean. And on the eighth
day he shall take two turtledoves or
two pigeons and come before the
Lord
to the entrance of the tent of meeting
and give them to the priest. And the
priest shall use them, one for a sin
offering and the other for a burnt
offering. And the priest shall make
atonement for him before the
Lord
for his discharge.

“If a man
has an emission of semen, he shall
bathe his whole body in water and be
unclean until the evening. And every
garment and every skin on which the
semen comes shall be washed with water
and be unclean until the evening. If a
man lies with a woman and has an
emission of semen, both of them shall
bathe themselves in water and be
unclean until the evening.

“When a
woman has a discharge, and the
discharge in her body is blood, she
shall be in her menstrual impurity for
seven days, and whoever touches her
shall be unclean until the evening.
And everything on which she lies
during her menstrual impurity shall be
unclean. Everything also on which she
sits shall be unclean. And whoever
touches her bed shall wash his clothes
and bathe himself in water and be
unclean until the evening. And whoever
touches anything on which she sits
shall wash his clothes and bathe
himself in water and be unclean until
the evening. Whether it is the bed or
anything on which she sits, when he
touches it he shall be unclean until
the evening. And if any man lies with
her and her menstrual impurity comes
upon him, he shall be unclean seven
days, and every bed on which he lies
shall be unclean.

“If a
woman has a discharge of blood for
many days, not at the time of her
menstrual impurity, or if she has a
discharge beyond the time of her
impurity, all the days of the
discharge she shall continue in
uncleanness. As in the days of her
impurity, she shall be unclean. Every
bed on which she lies, all the days of
her discharge, shall be to her as the
bed of her impurity. And everything on
which she sits shall be unclean, as in
the uncleanness of her menstrual
impurity. And whoever touches these
things shall be unclean, and shall
wash his clothes and bathe himself in
water and be unclean until the
evening. But if she is cleansed of her
discharge, she shall count for herself
seven days, and after that she shall
be clean. And on the eighth day she
shall take two turtledoves or two
pigeons and bring them to the priest,
to the entrance of the tent of
meeting. And the priest shall use one
for a sin offering and the other for a
burnt offering. And the priest shall
make atonement for her before the
Lord
for her unclean discharge.

“Thus you
shall keep the people of Israel
separate from their uncleanness, lest
they die in their uncleanness by
defiling my tabernacle that is in
their midst.”

This is
the law for him who has a discharge
and for him who has an emission of
semen, becoming unclean thereby; also
for her who is unwell with her
menstrual impurity, that is, for
anyone, male or female, who has a
discharge, and for the man who lies
with a woman who is unclean.

The Day
of Atonement

16:1 The
Lord
spoke to Moses after the death of the
two sons of Aaron, when they drew near
before the
Lord and died, and the
Lord
said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your
brother not to come at any time into
the Holy Place inside the veil, before
the mercy seat that is on the ark, so
that he may not die. For I will appear
in the cloud over the mercy seat. But
in this way Aaron shall come into the
Holy Place: with a bull from the herd
for a sin offering and a ram for a
burnt offering. He shall put on the
holy linen coat and shall have the
linen undergarment on his body, and he
shall tie the linen sash around his
waist, and wear the linen turban;
these are the holy garments. He shall
bathe his body in water and then put
them on. And he shall take from the
congregation of the people of Israel
two male goats for a sin offering, and
one ram for a burnt offering.

“Aaron
shall offer the bull as a sin offering
for himself and shall make atonement
for himself and for his house. Then he
shall take the two goats and set them
before the
Lord at the entrance of the
tent of meeting. And Aaron shall cast
lots over the two goats, one lot for
the Lord
and the other lot for Azazel.[2]
And Aaron shall present the goat on
which the lot fell for the
Lord
and use it as a sin offering, but the
goat on which the lot fell for Azazel
shall be presented alive before the
Lord
to make atonement over it, that it may
be sent away into the wilderness to
Azazel.

“Aaron
shall present the bull as a sin
offering for himself, and shall make
atonement for himself and for his
house. He shall kill the bull as a sin
offering for himself. And he shall
take a censer full of coals of fire
from the altar before the
Lord,
and two handfuls of sweet incense
beaten small, and he shall bring it
inside the veil and put the incense on
the fire before the
Lord,
that the cloud of the incense may
cover the mercy seat that is over the
testimony, so that he does not die.
And he shall take some of the blood of
the bull and sprinkle it with his
finger on the front of the mercy seat
on the east side, and in front of the
mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of
the blood with his finger seven times.

“Then he
shall kill the goat of the sin
offering that is for the people and
bring its blood inside the veil and do
with its blood as he did with the
blood of the bull, sprinkling it over
the mercy seat and in front of the
mercy seat. Thus he shall make
atonement for the Holy Place, because
of the uncleannesses of the people of
Israel and because of their
transgressions, all their sins. And so
he shall do for the tent of meeting,
which dwells with them in the midst of
their uncleannesses. No one may be in
the tent of meeting from the time he
enters to make atonement in the Holy
Place until he comes out and has made
atonement for himself and for his
house and for all the assembly of
Israel. Then he shall go out to the
altar that is before the
Lord
and make atonement for it, and shall
take some of the blood of the bull and
some of the blood of the goat, and put
it on the horns of the altar all
around. And he shall sprinkle some of
the blood on it with his finger seven
times, and cleanse it and consecrate
it from the uncleannesses of the
people of Israel.

“And when
he has made an end of atoning for the
Holy Place and the tent of meeting and
the altar, he shall present the live
goat. And Aaron shall lay both his
hands on the head of the live goat,
and confess over it all the iniquities
of the people of Israel, and all their
transgressions, all their sins. And he
shall put them on the head of the goat
and send it away into the wilderness
by the hand of a man who is in
readiness. The goat shall bear all
their iniquities on itself to a remote
area, and he shall let the goat go
free in the wilderness.

“Then
Aaron shall come into the tent of
meeting and shall take off the linen
garments that he put on when he went
into the Holy Place and shall leave
them there. And he shall bathe his
body in water in a holy place and put
on his garments and come out and offer
his burnt offering and the burnt
offering of the people and make
atonement for himself and for the
people. And the fat of the sin
offering he shall burn on the altar.
And he who lets the goat go to Azazel
shall wash his clothes and bathe his
body in water, and afterward he may
come into the camp. And the bull for
the sin offering and the goat for the
sin offering, whose blood was brought
in to make atonement in the Holy
Place, shall be carried outside the
camp. Their skin and their flesh and
their dung shall be burned up with
fire. And he who burns them shall wash
his clothes and bathe his body in
water, and afterward he may come into
the camp.

“And it
shall be a statute to you forever that
in the seventh month, on the tenth day
of the month, you shall afflict
yourselves[3]
and shall do no work, either the
native or the stranger who sojourns
among you. For on this day shall
atonement be made for you to cleanse
you. You shall be clean before the
Lord
from all your sins. It is a Sabbath of
solemn rest to you, and you shall
afflict yourselves; it is a statute
forever. And the priest who is
anointed and consecrated as priest in
his father's place shall make
atonement, wearing the holy linen
garments. He shall make atonement for
the holy sanctuary, and he shall make
atonement for the tent of meeting and
for the altar, and he shall make
atonement for the priests and for all
the people of the assembly. And this
shall be a statute forever for you,
that atonement may be made for the
people of Israel once in the year
because of all their sins.” And Moses
did as the
Lord commanded him.

The Place
of Sacrifice

17:1 And the
Lord
spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to
Aaron and his sons and to all the
people of Israel and say to them, This
is the thing that the
Lord
has commanded. If any one of the house
of Israel kills an ox or a lamb or a
goat in the camp, or kills it outside
the camp, and does not bring it to the
entrance of the tent of meeting to
offer it as a gift to the
Lord
in front of the tabernacle of the
Lord,
bloodguilt shall be imputed to that
man. He has shed blood, and that man
shall be cut off from among his
people. This is to the end that the
people of Israel may bring their
sacrifices that they sacrifice in the
open field, that they may bring them
to the Lord,
to the priest at the entrance of the
tent of meeting, and sacrifice them as
sacrifices of peace offerings to the
Lord.
And the priest shall throw the blood
on the altar of the
Lord
at the entrance of the tent of meeting
and burn the fat for a pleasing aroma
to the Lord.
So they shall no more sacrifice their
sacrifices to goat demons, after whom
they whore. This shall be a statute
forever for them throughout their
generations.

“And you
shall say to them, Any one of the
house of Israel, or of the strangers
who sojourn among them, who offers a
burnt offering or sacrifice and does
not bring it to the entrance of the
tent of meeting to offer it to the
Lord,
that man shall be cut off from his
people.

Laws
Against Eating Blood

“If any
one of the house of Israel or of the
strangers who sojourn among them eats
any blood, I will set my face against
that person who eats blood and will
cut him off from among his people. For
the life of the flesh is in the blood,
and I have given it for you on the
altar to make atonement for your
souls, for it is the blood that makes
atonement by the life. Therefore I
have said to the people of Israel, No
person among you shall eat blood,
neither shall any stranger who
sojourns among you eat blood.

“Any one
also of the people of Israel, or of
the strangers who sojourn among them,
who takes in hunting any beast or bird
that may be eaten shall pour out its
blood and cover it with earth. For the
life of every creature[4]
is its blood: its blood is its life.[5]
Therefore I have said to the people of
Israel, You shall not eat the blood of
any creature, for the life of every
creature is its blood. Whoever eats it
shall be cut off. And every person who
eats what dies of itself or what is
torn by beasts, whether he is a native
or a sojourner, shall wash his clothes
and bathe himself in water and be
unclean until the evening; then he
shall be clean. But if he does not
wash them or bathe his flesh, he shall
bear his iniquity.”

Jesus
Delivered to Pilate

27:1 When morning came, all the
chief priests and the elders of the
people took counsel against Jesus to
put him to death. And they bound him
and led him away and delivered him
over to Pilate the governor.

Judas
Hangs Himself

Then when
Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus[6]
was condemned, he changed his mind and
brought back the thirty pieces of
silver to the chief priests and the
elders, saying, “I have sinned by
betraying innocent blood.” They said,
“What is that to us? See to it
yourself.” And throwing down the
pieces of silver into the temple, he
departed, and he went and hanged
himself. But the chief priests, taking
the pieces of silver, said, “It is not
lawful to put them into the treasury,
since it is blood money.” So they took
counsel and bought with them the
potter's field as a burial place for
strangers. Therefore that field has
been called the Field of Blood to this
day. Then was fulfilled what had been
spoken by the prophet Jeremiah,
saying, “And they took the thirty
pieces of silver, the price of him on
whom a price had been set by some of
the sons of Israel, and they gave them
for the potter's field, as the Lord
directed me.”

Jesus
Before Pilate

Now Jesus
stood before the governor, and the
governor asked him, “Are you the King
of the Jews?” Jesus said,
“You have said so.”
But when he was accused by the chief
priests and elders, he gave no answer.
Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not
hear how many things they testify
against you?” But he gave him no
answer, not even to a single charge,
so that the governor was greatly
amazed.

The Crowd
Chooses Barabbas

Now at
the feast the governor was accustomed
to release for the crowd any one
prisoner whom they wanted. And they
had then a notorious prisoner called
Barabbas. So when they had gathered,
Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want
me to release for you: Barabbas, or
Jesus who is called Christ?” For he
knew that it was out of envy that they
had delivered him up. Besides, while
he was sitting on the judgment seat,
his wife sent word to him, “Have
nothing to do with that righteous man,
for I have suffered much because of
him today in a dream.” Now the chief
priests and the elders persuaded the
crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy
Jesus. The governor again said to
them, “Which of the two do you want me
to release for you?” And they said,
“Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then
what shall I do with Jesus who is
called Christ?” They all said, “Let
him be crucified!” And he said, “Why,
what evil has he done?” But they
shouted all the more, “Let him be
crucified!”

Pilate
Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

So when
Pilate saw that he was gaining
nothing, but rather that a riot was
beginning, he took water and washed
his hands before the crowd, saying, “I
am innocent of this man's blood;[7]
see to it yourselves.” And all the
people answered, “His blood be on us
and on our children!” Then he released
for them Barabbas, and having scourged[8]
Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Jesus Is
Mocked

Then the
soldiers of the governor took Jesus
into the governor's headquarters,[9]
and they gathered the whole battalion[10]
before him. And they stripped him and
put a scarlet robe on him, and
twisting together a crown of thorns,
they put it on his head and put a reed
in his right hand. And kneeling before
him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail,
King of the Jews!” And they spit on
him and took the reed and struck him
on the head. And when they had mocked
him, they stripped him of the robe and
put his own clothes on him and led him
away to crucify him.

Footnotes

[1]15:2
Hebrew flesh; also verse 3
[2]16:8
The meaning of Azazel is
uncertain; possibly the name of a
place or a demon, traditionally a
scapegoat; also verses 10, 26 [3]16:29
Or shall fast; also verse 31
[4]17:14
Hebrew all flesh[5]17:14
Hebrew it is in its life[6]27:3
Greek he[7]27:24
Some manuscripts this righteous
blood, or this righteous
man's blood[8]27:26
A Roman judicial penalty, consisting
of a severe beating with a
multi-lashed whip containing imbedded
pieces of bone and metal [9]27:27
Greek the praetorium[10]27:27
Greek cohort; a tenth of a
Roman legion, usually about 600 men